19 S'pore firms on Forbes Asia SME list
List ranks Asia Pacific's top 200 listed companies with sales of less than US$1b
By LAUREL TEO
SINGAPORE is punching above its weight when it comes to churning out the region's top small and medium enterprises, according to the latest Forbes Asia listing.
Nineteen names from Singapore have made the list of Asia-Pacific's top 200 listed companies with sales below US$1 billion. In comparison, Malaysia contributed eight, Hong Kong 12, and South Korea 11.
Japan, with a population of more than 125 million, equalled Singapore's record in this year's rankings. But the runaway champion is Taiwan, which produced 31 winners, mostly from the electronics and technology sector.
Forbes Asia editor Tim Ferguson said: 'Taiwan's impressive showing underscores both the entrepreneurial nature of the Taiwanese economy and its under-appreciated role as a hub for technology hardware.'
The secret of Taiwan's success is to pick battles well. According to Jack Huang, who runs a law practice in Taiwan and has worked with successful entrepreneurs there, this means targeting niche markets so small and insignificant that bigger companies would not bother with them.
In the latest Forbes list, Singapore improved on its 2005 score of 11 winners. But only two from last year's list - water specialist Hyflux and marine group Jaya Holdings - made this year's honour roll.
The other Singapore representatives this year include stock market darlings such as rig and ship-builder Labroy Marine, oil and gas equipment supplier KS Energy Services, and crane operator Tat Hong.
This year's overall list for the region saw a high turnover rate, with eight in 10 companies new entrants. Forbes Asia's Mr Ferguson said: 'The Asian Pacific economy is fluid and this is best seen at the small and medium-sized enterprise level.'
Other countries on the list include China with 29 entrants, Australia (27), India (23), Thailand (11), and Indonesia (5). New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka each had fewer than five entrants.
According to Forbes Asia, most of the mainland Chinese companies, as well as many Japanese and Indian firms, focus largely on their domestic markets.
Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
1 comment:
Small Business owners are largely forgotten. That’s why I only focus on them. I have experience several members of my family file bankruptcy due to small business failures. I also I suffered through 2 destroyed businesses due to failure however, in my failings I have learned some of the secrets to success. (Who can say they know it all?)
www.onlineuniversalwork.com
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